


You Make Me Feel (Like A Work Of Art)

by poeticalramblings



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2015-05-27
Packaged: 2018-04-01 11:43:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4018495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poeticalramblings/pseuds/poeticalramblings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Clexa. First date and everything that could go wrong, goes wrong. Clarke keeps finding a way to make the best of each mishap though. It turns out that this disastrous first date ends up being the best first date for them both.</p><p>or</p><p>Clarke finds the girl of her dreams in her favorite coffee shop and manages to ask her out smoothly, but it's all downhill from there. Sort of, anyways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Make Me Feel (Like A Work Of Art)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [withoutyourdress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/withoutyourdress/gifts).



> Happy birthday EJ! I hope I did this justice.

After the insanity and bustle of a busy week, she saves Sundays for herself. Clarke always goes to her favourite coffee shop, spending hours drinking coffee and sketching customers. It’s a ritual that she started in high school; her personal way of making sure that no matter how crazy the week gets, she has alone time built in. It’s a desperately needed chance to recharge away from prying eyes, and it’s something that she’s never shared with anyone.

* * *

Clarke grabs her coffee from the barista and sits down at a table, flipping open her sketchbook somewhat lazily. She’s eyeing her options- there’s a father and daughter smiling and sipping gleefully on hot cocoa that she thinks might end up being today’s subjects.

But when she turns her head to reach for her charcoal pencils, she sees this woman leaning over the drink pickup counter on both hands. A glare is blazing from her eyes at the barista, her jaw is clenched tightly, and even though Clarke can only really see her side profile, she can’t stop the little surprised squeak that bubbles up in her throat. Fuck, this woman is absolutely stunning and Clarke chokes on air a little bit more as she lets her eyes pan over the figure in front of her fully. She’s got these charcoal grey slacks on that hug her hips perfectly and a matching suit vest with a deep blue button up. Clarke is more than pleased to find that it has the first couple of buttons undone when she turns around and towards the tables. Clarke lets her eyes trail back up to study the woman's face and notices how her dark hair is gathered up into a tight bun. She also notices how a few curly tendrils of hair have escaped to trail along her jaw and frame her face perfectly. She strides away from the counter with cup in hand, coffee having finally been received at long last, and she bleeds a sense of power and control into the whole room as she weighs where she wants to station herself.

Clarke’s completely spellbound for more than a full beat, muscles frozen, breath caught and quivering in her lungs while her eyes blink heavily. She’s certain she must be dreaming, a girl who looks like this surely can’t be real and only a few feet in front of her. But after another moment, she unfreezes and the minute she gains back the slightest semblance of control, her fingers have grasped a pencil and her hand is flying across the paper. Inspiration is burning into her hotter than the first sip of her coffee today scalded her tongue. Clarke’s sketching faster than she has in ages, pencil barely keeping pace with her brain as it glides and scratches across the page.

Out of the corner of her eye, Clarke sees her sit down at a table just slightly off to the left of where she herself is sitting, and she silently thanks the art gods for smiling on her today. Her subject is within perfect view and once Clarke’s gotten a rough likeness down on paper, she glances up at her again and their eyes meet.

Blue meets green and she swears she can feel lightning shoot down through her spine, can feel sparks seeping in and through her bones, only to radiate out of her in a hopeful smile. The woman’s expression doesn’t change though, it’s completely blank, and she seems unaffected by the same moment that has wrecked Clarke in a way she’s never felt or ever even expected. There’s no hint given that any storm of emotion is swirling beneath her surface, that she has been struck as unexpectedly as Clarke has, and is burning up from the inside out too.

She doesn’t look away though, she just keeps staring at Clarke with this heavy, heavy gaze even long after she has tilted her head back down towards her drawing. She can feel the weight of it resting upon her and it excites her, inspires her further.

Her hand is flying across the paper again, pausing only to dart her eyes up in the direction of this goddess that she’s somehow landed herself in the presence of, and she can’t help the smile that creeps onto her lips. She hasn’t ever felt this pull before, hasn’t felt so envigorated and inspired by a mere stranger and it’s thrilling. Clarke blends and shades with quiet wonder, her pencil only pausing momentarily from time to time so she can peek up through long lashes to make sure she’s properly capturing the beauty she sees. Their eyes keep meeting with almost every pause she takes, and every single time that they do it makes her heart thrum in celebration.

She’s finished much too soon, in her opinion. Clarke sets down her pencil with a sigh, sad to be done with this particular drawing, and knowing exactly why. She’s captured her likeness perfectly though, well, as much as she can in a still frame of time on paper. She’s proud of this one. She knows she becomes a better artist when she lets her emotions seep into her work, and the way that this woman has unraveled her by simply existing nearby made it impossible to do anything but.

The thought of possibly never seeing her again crosses her mind and Clarke’s throat feels tight. She can’t bear the idea of that happening, refuses to let it. So Clarke lets her mind spin and race with ideas of how to introduce herself, before finally settling on giving her the page with the drawing she’s just created.

Clarke scrawls a note on the bottom left corner with her number and name before inhaling deeply and creasing it carefully in half.

_‘I can do this, I have to do this_ ’ she thinks to herself before gathering her things and pushing the chair back to stand.

Clarke can feel her heart trembling in her chest, can feel anxiety using it as a trampoline before launching itself up into her throat and sticking there in a useless lump. Each step makes her chest feel tighter, makes her wonder why she can’t just walk away.

Before she knows it, she’s standing in front of her table, messenger bag slung carelessly over one shoulder and a single sheet of paper crinkled only slightly where she grips it tightly with a trembling hand.

Green eyes stare up at her in wonderment, and Clarke thinks she sees a hint of emotions similar to her own swirling in them before her nerves get the best of her and she lowers her gaze slightly while holding out the paper.

Clarke feels lithe, dexterous fingers slide across her own and grasp the shaking page. She’s frozen in place before she feels a tug and startles, realizing that she still needs let go of the drawing if the other woman is to be able to see it at all. Clarke lets go finally, snapping her gaze up just in time to see her crack a slight smile and let out a quiet huff of a laugh.

“For you.” Clarke murmurs, “Join me for dinner soon ...?”

She lets her voice trail off, hoping she’ll be granted a name, and isn’t disappointed.

“It’s Lexa.”, the woman asserts, “and I’d be honored to.”

Lexa smiles fully then, and a part of her wants to sit down to pull her sketchbook back out right there in front of her, because she’s so beautiful. Clarke feels her heart actually stutter in her chest at the sight of Lexa smiling at her, and doesn’t even try to tone down her goofy grin, before thumbing over her shoulder.

“Great! I actually have to go but my number is on there.” She nods at the paper, “Just call or text me when you’re free and we can figure out the details.”

Lexa leans back in her chair, nodding slowly and giving Clarke a very evident once over with that same smile still evident on her lips before winking. “I’ll be sure to do that.”

Clarke feels herself flush with want at the wink, and she can't stop her eyes from flickering down to Lexa's lips. She feels her cheeks color and bites down on her lip shyly before rocking back on her heels to glance despondently towards the door.

Lexa huffs out that quiet laugh at her again and Clarke ducks her head in slight embarrassment.

“Go, I’ll call you later about that date, I promise.”

At that, Clarke grins widely, giving a jaunty half wave and spinning towards the door. She pauses right before pushing it open to glance behind her and see Lexa unfolding the carefully creased page. Her jaw drops open for a moment before she shuts it abruptly and Clarke watches her swallow harshly, biting back thinly veiled emotion. Lexa inhales deeply for a moment before looking up and catching Clarke’s eyes with her own.

For just a moment, Lexa drops her guard. She can see the questions in Lexa’s gaze, the gratitude and amazement shining in her direction.  Their eyes swirl with the very same storm of emotion and Clarke can only smile before miming holding a phone up to her ear. She leaves the coffee shop to the happy sound of Lexa’s giggle, and once she’s outside, Clarke spins happily in celebration.  

* * *

The phone call comes the next day. Clarke’s in the middle of painting in her studio, hair thrown up in a messy bun and paint flecked across her hands and cheeks. She hears her music stop and her ringtone blare in its place through her speakers. Her heart pounds as it’s done with every call since yesterday evening, hope flaring within it.

She bounces over to it, and glances at the screen, her heart nearly stopping when she sees the words ‘unknown caller’ reflecting back at her. Clarke wipes her hands hurriedly on a rag, taking in a deep breath of air to calm herself even as her heart pounds excitedly before she answers.

“H‘Lo?” She says, glancing dubiously over at the futon in the corner before deciding that there’s no way she can sit still right now.

“ _Hello, is this Clarke? It’s Lexa. From the coffee shop yesterday?_ ” Clarke grins happily while starting to wander out of her studio and aimlessly around her apartment.

“Yeah, hi! I mean, it’s me. Clarke, that is.” She covers her face with one hand, wondering why she can’t just talk like a normal person. She’s pretty sure the only reason she might’ve come off semi-smooth yesterday is because talking was kept to a minimum. “Are you calling about our date?” Clarke groans inwardly at herself because that isn't any better. Of course Lexa’s calling about the date. She wouldn’t even have Clarke’s phone number if it wasn’t for asking her to dinner.

Lexa lets out an amused chuckle before replying. There’s a definite flirty undercurrent to her words that makes Clarke shiver slightly in excitement.  “ _I’m most definitely calling about that date. When is good for you?”_

She bites down on her lip slightly, because god, Lexa seems so put together and Clarke knows she’s a bit of a walking disaster. She thinks for a moment on the best time, she knows she has a few commissions she needs to get finished before the week is out. “Would Saturday night work?”

_“Saturday’s perfect. Did you have a place in mind?”_

Clarke hums thoughtfully before asking dramatically, “How do you feel about… grilled cheese?”

_“Grilled….cheese?”_ She can hear the complete bafflement in her voice and can’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, do you like it?” She smirks slightly to herself as she switches off her phone to her other hand, and leans against the wall to stare out a window.

_“....yes?”_ She can hear how thrown Lexa is and decided to put her out of her misery.

“Two friends of mine own this restaurant called Back to Basics and their menu offers all sorts of new twists on home cooked favorites. They’re getting pretty well known for their gourmet grilled cheese, and for good reason. It’s amazing. Don’t worry though, they won’t interrupt us. Well, Jasper would, but Monty will keep him in check.” And hopefully far away from us, she thinks.

_“That sounds excellent. Would you like to meet around 7? Do we need a reservation?”_ Clarke lets out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding and twists away from the window to pace back across the room.

“7 is perfect, and no, we don’t. They don’t do reservations there. They’re more of a first come first serve atmosphere.”

_“I’m sorry, Clarke, can you hang on a moment?”_ She gets distracted by the way her name drips out of Lexa’s mouth, how she can practically hear her tongue curl around the ‘k’ in her name, and flushes with heat. She shakes her head to snap out of it and hears muffled talking in the background along with slight shuffling before Lexa comes back to the phone.

_“I’m really sorry, but I have to go. I’ll see you on Saturday at 7 though. Will you text me the address for the restaurant?”_ She sounds regretful about having to get off the phone, and while Clarke wishes they could talk longer too, she knows they’ll have plenty of time to talk this coming weekend.

“Hey, it’s okay. You can be charmed by me face to face this weekend on our date instead.” The words fly out of Clarke’s mouth before she can overthink them and try to tone down the flirtatiousness for fear of sounding too eager.

Lexa laughs again, but it’s not the amused chuckle from before, it’s this low sexy chuckle that makes Clarke shiver and wish she could fast forward through all the days that come before the weekend. _“You already did that yesterday, but I’m sure you’ll do it again.”_

There’s muffled voice again and then Lexa sighs. _“I’m sorry Clarke, I really do have to go. I was on lunch at work.”_

“It’s alright. I’ll see you Saturday?” Clarke smiles at the thought that Lexa gave up much of her lunch time in favor of calling her.

_“You will. Text me the address please. Bye, Clarke.”_ She sits there contentedly for a moment after Lexa’s hung up before jumping up and letting out a whoop.

She can’t explain why she feels so drawn to Lexa, she just is. There’s this magnetic current about her pulling Clarke in that she can’t fight and doesn’t want to. She’s always kind of laughed at people who talked of feeling instant connections, but she gets it now. Clarke feels it with Lexa in ways that she can only express in swirls of color and she feels guilty for the people she previously judged .

She breaks herself out of the thoughts she’s lost in and fires off a quick text to Lexa. Clarke has what her friends have very lovingly dubbed ‘artist’s brain’ and she knows that she tends to forget things as she flows from one activity to the next. This way, Lexa has the address for Back to Basics already and needing to text it to her hasn’t been given a chance to slip her mind.

* * *

The next five days pass fairly quickly with a multitude of texts exchanged between the two of them. The more Clarke has talked with Lexa, the more enraptured she’s become. Lexa is thoughtful and reserved where Clarke is passionate and vibrant and despite feeling like Lexa is entirely out of her league, she thinks they could compliment each other quite nicely. Clarke has already developed a habit of texting Lexa completely random questions at odd points of the day to both get to know her better and also make her smile. They’ve ranged from _what food could you eat forever_ , to _what’s one thing you will absolutely never do, not even on a bucket list_ and every shade in between.

Before Clarke knows it, she’s an anxious mess, running late and rushing to get ready to leave. She’s dressed already but she’s misplaced her car keys and she’s looked through her apartment five times already. She’s starting in on the sixth search through when she finds them in her fridge while getting a quick glass of water.

Clarke throws a worried glance at the clock, and curses, tugging her shoes on in a blur. She’s going to be late.

She takes every backroad and shortcut she can think of on her way there to cut out traffic, but still gets stuck waiting right near the restaurant while some sort of procession crosses through the intersection. Clarke drums her fingers against the steering wheel in annoyance for a moment before picking her phone and shooting a quick text off to Lexa, letting her know that she’ll be there momentarily.

The parade, or whatever the hell it was finally clears through and she’s given  a wave that it’s okay to drive forward and she zips into a space in the parking lot after only a couple minutes of circling. There are groups of people milling about outside the entrance to the restaurant and Clarke suddenly remembers that she forgot to text Monty to save them a table.

“Fuck.” she whispers to herself,  “I’m so screwed. So, so screwed.” Clarke runs over her options in her mind and realizes she can only hope that Monty or Jasper are in tonight.

She takes a deep breath to collect herself and walk from her car to the restaurant and enters. Clarke spots Lexa immediately, and goes slightly wide eyed at the sight of her. She looks _stunning_ , she looks _gorgeous_ , and _ravishing_ , like millions of other words that couldn’t possibly compare to Lexa standing there in front of her.

Clarke can only swallow hard before moving over to her to say hello, touching her hand lightly in greeting. She watches as Lexa turns and her eyes light up, as a smile pulls at her lips and she turns her hand over, lacing her fingers loosely with Clarke’s.

“Hello, Clarke.” She can only stand there dumbly and flush for a moment as Lexa kisses her cheek with sparkling eyes.

Clarke stutters out a greeting in the midst of a blush, and then notices Monty weaving behind waiters just slightly beyond the host booth. _Saved_ , she thinks to herself.

She tries to squeeze the hand intertwined with her own gently, in more of an affectionate fashion but in her excitement she thinks she grips a little too hard, if Lexa’s slight grimace is anything to go by.

“Sorry, sorry, I just wanted to tell you that I see my friend, Monty,”  Clarke points him out, “He’s one of the owners, the one I asked to keep a table free for us.” She crosses the fingers of her free hand behind her back, hoping he can help her out. “I’m just going to go say hello and check quickly, give me just a moment?”

Lexa nods at her, eyes still twinkling and Clarke swears she melts a little inside. This woman is just… she’s unfair. She’s come into Clarke’s life and taken her mind and heart captive simultaneously while forcing them into a peaceful coalition with one another. No one that came before her was ever able to do that. They tried, sure, but none succeeded and _Lexa,_ Lexa has managed to accomplish the foundation of a potentially lasting peace within a week.

She startles out of her reverie at the feeling of Lexa’s thumb brushing against the back of her hand.

“Go, I’ll be here. I won’t disappear when you turn your back” Lexa teases.

Clarke grins shyly and lets her hand slip away, walking backwards for a few steps without turning her gaze as if to make sure Lexa’s telling the truth until she almost trips up a waiter. She sees Lexa hiding a tiny grin behind her hand, and spins around finally to walk the remaining steps to Monty before she gravely injures herself or one of his employees.

Monty greets her excitedly with a hug, and listens intently as she explains her dilemma to him. He nods every so often as Clarke rambles, and then interjects when he’s gotten a feel for what she’s asking.

“We actually do take reservations now for future notice.” He smirks at her before continuing, “but I can definitely help you out. We actually had someone reserve the best table and then cancel last minute. You and your lady can have that one.”

She attacks him with an exuberant hug, squeezing tightly, “Thanks Monty. You’re the best. Why don’t you come over and talk about that painting you mentioned wanting with me next week? I’ll do it free of charge for you.”

He shakes his head slowly at her, somewhat in awe, not because she offered to do his commission for free, but because she offered it up so easily. “Clarke, you really like this girl, don’t you?”

“I can’t explain it M, I saw her and it was like my heart reached out in her direction. Like it whispered to me, go ask her out or you’ll regret it” she shrugs, “So I listened.”

He beams at her, happy to see her happy. “Well let’s go seat the two of you so your date can get underway!”

They make their way back over to where she is standing, and Clarke immediately stations herself by Lexa’s side, “Lexa, this is my friend Monty, he’s one of the owners of this place.”

Lexa smiles politely and nods in greeting, “You’ve got a very nice restaurant here. It looks to be very successful. I’m looking forward to trying your food.”

Monty smiles and thanks her graciously before leading them to their table, and setting menus down on it for them. He takes his leave quickly but shoots Clarke a dorky thumbs up that she only catches out of the corner of her eye and promptly ignores.

Intending to be a gentlewoman, she steps around Lexa to pull the chair out for her to sit down. Except, she bumps into a waiter carrying a drink tray. Time feel like it slows, and she can only watch in horror as a glass of water wobbles and then dumps onto Lexa.

The waiter is apologizing profusely and Clarke is scrambling for something from the table, anything that will help blot the water that has started to soak through the denim of Lexa’s jeans. She grabs a napkin and starts patting at her inner thigh awkwardly before blushing deeply and freezing completely, realizing exactly what it is she’s doing.

She swallows harshly before snapping her gaze up to Lexa’s face, who is looking anywhere but at her. Slowly, determinedly, she slides her own hand down and grasps Clarke’s hand before removing it from her leg with a gentle squeeze. “I’ve got it, thanks.”

Clarke didn’t think it was possible to blush a brighter shade of red but she’s currently doing just that. She’s _mortified_ , she had only intended to be chivalrous and instead her complete clumsiness had messed everything up. “I’m sorry.” she breathes, half under her breath and internally cursing herself.

Slim fingers tuck under her chin, tilting it up so blue eyes can meet the steady gaze of green. “It was an accident, okay? It wasn’t your fault. Besides,” Lexa smirks at her, “I have another pair of jeans in my car.”

Clarke laughs a little at that, partly because _hey, so does she_ , but mostly because she’s relieved that Lexa isn’t taking this as a sign to quit while they’re ahead. She nods at her in understanding.

“Hey, you wanna get out of here?” Lexa’s looking at her somewhat wide-eyed and she narrows her eyes in confusion for a second before hers widen too. “Oh my gosh, Lexa no, I didn’t mean like that. I just meant that we could get our food to go and have a picnic down by that pond around the corner instead, if you’d rather.” she grins at her, “that way there won’t be any waiters I can accidentally knock into.”

She laughs at that, a full laugh that leaves Clarke wanting to hear it again and again and again. A smile finds its way across her lips and she nods teasingly, “that would probably be for the best, Clarke.”

She hands Lexa a menu so she can choose what she wants before she goes to her car and gets the other pair of jeans to change into.

Monty has heard what happened by this point, so he comes over and talks with Clarke for a moment after putting their order in on rush with the back of the kitchen. He whistles at her lowly, grinning “You were late and then made my waiter spill water on the poor girl and she’s still sticking around? I’d say you made your own impression on her too, Griff.”

Clarke punches him in the arm and he pouts at her, rubbing the spot. “Hey easy, you punch too hard.”

She narrows her eyes at him playfully, “Yeah, well you deserved it.” She sees a waiter coming over to them with a couple containers of food. “How much do I owe you, M?”

He winks at her before walking away and calling over his shoulder, “It’s on the house, Griff. Go get your girl! I’ll call you about next week.”

Clarke stands still for a moment before nodding resolutely to herself. Monty’s right, there’s too much of a connection there. She can’t fuck this up anymore. It’s time to bring her A game, she thinks, like the day she handed her the drawing.

* * *

Except she does in fact, fuck up again. She’s pretty certain at this point the only reason she managed to swing a date with Lexa in the first place is because she barely had to say any words. Her art did the wooing, not her mouth.

Clarke shakes her head briefly to clear it because wow, not the place she needs to be letting her mind wander to on a first date.

They’re sprawled out by the pond on the blanket that Clarke keeps in her car, empty food containers stuffed into a bag next to it. Lexa’s sprawled out on her back, one arm tucked behind her head. Clarke’s laying next to her on her stomach, tracing over the back of her free hand and up her arm lazily when she notices the tattoo peeking from underneath a t-shirt sleeve.

She rubs a gentle circle onto the hint of black ink peeking out there, “Hey, you have a tattoo?”

Lexa nods lazily, “Yes, that’s one of two. I have a bigger piece on my back.”

Clarke darts her eyes to Lexa’s in slight awe, “Whoa, seriously? That’s awesome. What are they of?”

Lexa swallows tightly and closes her eyes before replying, “Well, the one on my back is for my family. The one on my arm was for my ex.”

She can see that the question has made Lexa tense for some reason. Clarke thinks it could be the family part of her answer, and that’s certainly something she understands, so she tries to lighten the mood. “A tattoo for an ex, huh? I didn’t have you pegged as that kind of girl.”

Lexa bolts up at her statement. She goes from lying next to Clarke peacefully and relaxed one moment, to standing rigidly looking like she’s not sure whether to curse her out or run away the next. She’s trembling and Clarke is frozen, not knowing exactly what she said that set her off.

She holds out a hand to start to apologize “Lexa, wait… I didn’t mean it like…” but she’s already off and running. Lexa bolts away before she can even finish her sentence, and Clarke stares stupidly at the blanket for a moment before sprinting after her.

“Lexa! Lexa, wait!” She sees her slow her pace slightly and then stop, clearly deliberating on whether she should hear Clarke out or just keep going without turning back. “Please, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend you. I could just tell that my question made you upset and I was trying to lighten the mood.”

Lexa turns towards her then with somewhat wild and watery green eyes. Her arms are folded across her chest and Clarke can see that she’s trembling slightly. “My ex, Costia, we didn’t break up. She died while we were dating, and I got it in memory of her.”

Clarke approaches cautiously before stopping a foot or two away and ducking her head shamefully, “I really am sorry, Lexa. The last thing I would want to do is offend or upset you. You just, you throw me off kilter. I’m normally a lot more confident than this but there’s something about you that makes all of that go haywire.” she shrugs, “You give off this completely put together, intimidating sort of vibe and when I’m around you, I’m just….not my usual confident self. I turn into this giant awkward nerd.”

Lexa stares at her open mouthed, whether in disbelief or shock, Clarke’s not sure. She closes the distance between them, and steps directly in front of her, blue eyes meeting green firmly. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to see me again after tonight, though. It’s been one disaster after another, and I won’t blame you if you decide you’re fed up with this night and over it all.”

Clarke carefully reaches out to gently cup Lexa’s face in her hands. Her heart is pounding heavily in her throat as she meets her eyes seriously, and breathes, “but I hope you don’t, because all of the mishaps I’ve caused, and embarrassment I’ve felt aside? This has still been the best first date I’ve been on, because it was with you. There’s something there between us, I can’t explain it, but I felt it before we even spoke in the coffee shop and I know you did too. There’s something here, and I think it could be great for both of us if you decide to give me another shot.”

Clarke leans in slowly, eyes watching Lexa carefully for any sign that she should pull away, but none come. She closes the last gap between them and presses her lips against Lexa’s in a slow sweet kiss that accentuates all the words she just painted into the air between them. She can feel Lexa’s lips tremble slightly against her own, and she pulls back slightly to press a soft kiss to her cheek before backing fully away.

“Let me know what you decide.” Clarke spins on her heels like she did that day in the coffee shop, but this time she doesn’t bounce away. Her heart feels heavy and sad. She’s pretty sure she just messed up her only chance with Lexa. She may never see her again, and it’s all because she couldn’t get it together enough to not be a complete bumbling mess.

She sighs and walks back to her car, deciding to forego retrieving the blanket completely. Clarke just wants to go home and sleep, for this day to be over. She started it with such high hopes for the evening and then she messed everything up.

* * *

Clarke’s doodling half-heartedly on a page of her sketchbook as she sits in at a table in the coffee shop, the next day. She’s on the phone with her best friend Octavia and seriously questioning why she even bothered coming here today at all. She has no inspiration to sketch anyone. Clarke just wants to lay in bed and mope a while longer.

_“So you really think she’s never going to want to see you again?”_

Clarke sighs heavily, lowering her head onto her hands, “You weren’t there, O. It was a total disaster. I just kept messing up and I couldn’t stop. I won’t blame her for never wanting to see me again.”

“I wouldn’t say it was a total disaster.” Clarke bolts upright and ends her call abruptly at the sound of Lexa’s voice. She hovers hesitantly next to her table with a cup of coffee in hand, until Clarke gestures for her to sit down across from her.

She leans forward onto the table and smirks slightly. “Okay, it kind of was. But not all of it was your fault, I got upset with you for something you couldn’t have known about, and that wasn’t fair.”

Lexa smiles tentatively at her, “You know, you’re pretty cute when you’re awkward.” Clarke bites her lip slightly and blushes, playing with her pencil nervously, not wanting to get her hopes up in case Lexa is just trying to let her down easy. “You left last night before I could say anything back. And you pulled away before I could kiss you back.”

Clarke lifts her head at that, hope blooming violently in her chest and swirling into her lungs with each breath she takes. She meets Lexa’s hopeful gaze with her own curious one.

Lexa stands and pushes back her chair before walking around the table and tugging Clarke up out of her seat. She leans in slowly, pausing for just a moment before their lips meet to give Clarke the same chance to back away. She doesn’t though, and Lexa surges forward, connecting their lips firmly. She kisses her softly, tentatively sliding her mouth against Clarke’s own, and Clarke trembles slightly at the promise of it. She winds one arm around Lexa’s back, hand fisting gently into her jacket there. She can feel the same swirl of emotion from the first time she saw Lexa, right here, rising up within her and threatening to consume her. It isn't a rushed or hurried kiss, just a slow gliding of lips against lips but god, it undoes her more surely than any she’s had before it. Lexa draws back from her slightly, resting her forehead against Clarke’s before breathing soft words against her lips.”Can we try the date again?”

Clarke laughs a little breathlessly before grinning in amazement and kissing her again briefly.

“We sure can. How’s now?”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in a couple of years, so please be gentle with me. You can find me on tumblr at aca-nerd.


End file.
